Career Toolkit

Last updated August 13, 2018

About

By Jannet Walsh
The Career Toolkit is a resource of just the basics needed to create a personal career toolkit to help land your first internship, job and launch a new career. Although I created the Career Toolkit originally for my students at St. Cloud State University, please feel free to continue reading as the information is valuable for recent graduates and anyone looking for employment.

All the items include links and references to original sources to give you an opportunity to explore beyond this page. Please share this page with anyone looking for work. I welcome comments and suggests if you have something to help job seekers!

Watch SCSU Career Center CareerSpots Videos

SCSU Mass Communications Internship

GAIN VALUABLE PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE, ALONG WITH A PORTFOLIO AND BE READY TO LAUNCH YOUR CAREER BEFORE GRADUATION!

If you are a SCSU Mass Communications student, please follow the procedures listed below to apply for an internship. Having one or more internships before you graduate is highly recommended.Employers look for prospective employees with proven work experience and the potential to succeed and learn on the job. Start thinking of your future career now, not after you graduate.

SCSU MASS COMMUNICATIONS INTERNSHIPS

To find Mass Comm internships please follow the following instructions:

Thank you letter

It’s vital you thank each person that helps you along your job search. If you interview for a job or someone goes out of their way to help you, it’s the time to shine and show you are thankful for any and all help.

Employers area known to make decisions on hiring based on if a candidate send a thank you card, letter or email. Your words professional and to the point. It’s also one last opportunity to put yourself in front of a company you really want to work.

Thank you letters provided by the SCSU Career CenterFind more information on thank you letters at the SCSU Career Center website.

See sample script, go to Sample Script
Create a script before you start shooting your video to promote your career. This video can also be called an elevator pitch, what you can tell a prospective employer in the amount of time it takes to take an elevator ride. Resume video is also another reference.

Video to promote your career – Call it what you want, but it’s an introduction video about your career and why an employer should hire you. You can feature your talents, skills, achievements and career aspirations.

Keep it short– This should be a short video, no more than one to two minutes, not the time to put someone to sleep. If you can’t tell a prospective employer about yourself in a very succinct video, it’s likely you will have trouble talking about yourself in an interview. This in an incredible opportunity to showcase yourself. This will also be great practice during job interviews as a very common question is, “Tell me about yourself.” This is about education, career, not a personal story about your family.

Keep it professional – Don’t mention your marital status, if you have children, health problems and other personal information. The introduction is all about you and your career. If you are about to graduate from college, it’s about your career aspirations, student internships and campus involvement, volunteering and other activities that you think are significant.

[First name] holds a [insert degree] in [insert area of study] from [insert university].
(If not already mentioned earlier about education, include something else that’s important and vital you want a future employer to know about your.)

Biography Example
Jane Smith is an aspiring public relations professional studying Mass Communications with an emphasis in Pubic Relations and a minor in Graphic Design at St. Cloud State University, St. Cloud, Minnesota. Her anticipated graduation is Fall 2017.

Jane served as the Social Media Manager for Husky Agency, huskyagency.org, leading a team of four fellow students for the XZY Company, St. Cloud. Husky Agency is a service-learning learning experience for public relations students at SCSU.

Her internship at The XYZ Public Relations Agency, Summer 2013 in St. Paul, Minnesota, helped her develop valuable skills as she contributed to 15 summer events, designed brochures and newsletters, updated the company website, coordinate media interviews and curated social media daily.

When Jane is not helping out at her family’s restaurant in rural Murdock, Minnesota, she is the captain of the SCSU Synchronized Swim Team, she enjoys volunteering for worthy causes and exploring Adobe Creative Cloud applications.